Christopher Pyne during Question Time in Federal Parliament last week. Photo: Penny Bradfield

Mr Pyne told The National Times earlier this month that he had ''no reason'' to contact Mr Ashby after the meeting, and has been widely quoted as saying that ''I did not email Mr Ashby after March 19''.

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And Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said on May 4 that ''there was no contact whatsoever after that drink, apparently, in Peter Slipper's office''.

But The Age has obtained an email sent by Mr Pyne to Mr Ashby late on the night of March 19.

The cryptic email will add fuel to claims by Labor that Mr Pyne and others in the Coalition had prior knowledge of Mr Ashby's sexual harassment claim, which has forced Mr Slipper to stand down indefinitely from the Speaker's chair.

Mr Abbott and Mr Pyne have said repeatedly that they had no ''specific'' knowledge of the legal action, while on ABC radio last week Mr Pyne refused on seven occasions to clarify his contact with Mr Ashby.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson took to Twitter with a fury this morning, alleging Mr Pyne ''conceals and decieves, has no shame''.

Dr Emerson called on Mr Pyne to make a statement so that the ''public can know the truth about all Liberal involvement in Ashby matter''.

But Mr Abbott brushed the latest revelations off as a ‘‘desperate smear, a desperate distraction from a desperate government’’.

‘‘All that matters is a, did the Speaker sexually harass his staffer and b, has he misused his entitlements?,’’ he said.

And Coalition frontbencher Bruce Billson said people should be careful of overstating the email exchange and hit out at Labor for attempting to distract from their electoral woes.

''Any attempt to come up with conspiracy theories as some justification for the tawdry events surrounding the Speaker are just attempts to distract the community,'' he told Sky News.

Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury said the emails showed Mr Pyne had '''told a porkie'' with his original account about meeting Mr Ashby.

''Mr Pyne, the man who is noted for his verbal diarrhoea on most occasions, needs to come forward and be absolutely clear and specific about the nature of his interactions and his contact with Mr Ashby,'' Mr Bradbury told Sky.

Earlier this month, Fairfax website National Times revealed that Mr Pyne spent almost two hours drinking and chatting with Mr Ashby and another staffer in Mr Slipper's office on March 19. Mr Slipper was not present for most of the time.

At the time, when The Age asked Mr Pyne if he had ever sought Mr Ashby's contact details, Mr Pyne replied: ''I don't remember ever having asked for Mr Ashby's number.''

The National Times then published an email sent by Mr Pyne at 11.01 pm in which the manager of Opposition business asked the unnamed Slipper staffer for Mr Ashby's email address and mobile number. He received them via email at 11.02 pm.

When confronted with the email, Mr Pyne said: ''I don't remember asking for those, but by the same token, I may well have.''

It can now be revealed that Mr Pyne contacted Mr Ashby one minute later.

Mr Pyne declined to comment last night. He has previously said that he has ''nothing to hide''. ''I was simply passing the time of day. We had a beer and a political discussion.''

He maintains he has ''never had any contact of any nature with James Ashby in relation to the Federal Court action''.

Claims of a coalition cover-up escalated dramatically when The Age subsequently revealed that former Howard Government minister, Mal Brough, met Mr Ashby on the Sunshine Coast while the staffer was still in the Speaker's employ.

Mr Brough - who has a longstanding bitter political rivalry with Mr Slipper and is the frontrunner for preselection in the Speaker's seat - revealed he urged Mr Ashby to seek legal advice over his claims of sexual harassment and travel fraud.

The evidence of Mr Pyne's email to the staffer comes as Mr Ashby confirmed he would not proceed with allegations about misuse of Cabcharge vouchers by his Mr Slipper to avoid any delay in the court's consideration of his civil claim of sexual harassment and discrimination.

The sexual harassment allegations, which Mr Slipper has denied, will be heard tomorrow in the Federal Court.